Saturday, February 7, 2015

New Euro-western release

Even those that lived in the more unforgiving 19th
century were apparently hopeless romantics. In writer/director John Maclean’s
evocative fairy tale Western-adventure starring Michael Fassbender and Kodi
Smit-McPhee, the heart leads and the head follows further behind. And in the
trail of dead that mark the hard journey to reunion, unlikely families form.

In the cruel and merciless landscapes of the Western
frontier, a young man has traveled great distances for love. Jay Cavendish
(Smit-McPhee) has made a grand pilgrimage from Scotland across America in
pursuit of his lost love, Rose Ross (Caren Pistorius). Having fled the country
to America with her father, John (Rory McCann, the Hound from “Game Of
Thrones”), the two are wanted for a tragedy that’s more accident than crime.

Life is cheap in this remorseless setting and it’s a
miracle that Cavendish has gotten as far as Colorado without being killed. It’s
with fortuitous timing that he crosses paths with Silas (Fassbender), a
mysterious and monosyllabic brute who offers to chaperone him across the
frontier safely in exchange for money. Initially at odds, the young boy
repelled by the man’s killer nature, Silas proves to be a providential guardian
angel, but he also has his own suspicious motivations that will come into
question later down the road.

Hot on their trail is Payne (Ben Mendelsohn) and his band
of cold-blooded bounty hunters. They might be seeking what Silas is after, but
as an ex-member of their gang who has grown fond of Cavendish’s spirit and
moxie, the outlaw-turned-protector's conscience may outweigh his desire for
money and survival at all costs. A face-off is inexorable and the way that
Maclean’s script intertwines these three different groups is fantastic stuff.

Brilliantly executed, Maclean’s movie is certainly an
unconventional Western with a European and outsider’s perspective. While it has
its share of traditionally moody and atmospheric elements, “Slow West,” is
perhaps best defined by its sharp wit, absurdist violence and fairy tale
qualities. Evincing a magic realism of fable dreaminess, juxtaposed with harsh
severity, Maclean is right at home with this tone. Hilarious outbursts of
violence — thrilling whip pans and smash cuts — are reminiscent of Quentin
Tarantino and the Coen Brothers, but his sensibilities and wicked sense of
humor still feel fresh.

And for all its heightened and artificial elements
underneath its layers, there’s a sad soulfulness inside; the picture quietly
commenting on the death of the native Indian, the dark, inhumane impulses of
man and the blood-stained hands that built these lands. Perhaps the most
enriching idea in the film is not the killer in search of salvation, or the
comic/tragic notion of adoration that won’t be reciprocated no matter how many
miles one logs, but the concept of ever-evolving families as orphans, strays
and drifters collect together around the fringes of the Wild West.

Silas wants nothing to do with his former band of
scoundrels, but they’d do anything to have him back. And as ruthless as these
killers are, their complexity is demonstrated when they adopt two children
along the trail. Likewise, Silas and Cavendish make for their own father/son
duo and yet another abridged clan awaits them at their final destination.

The cast is solid all around. Fassbender is mostly
taciturn, but always has an imposing presence and a cut-through-you gaze.
Smit-McPhee is solid as the guileless innocent and Mendelsohn’s father-figure
devil… well, his spirit elevates any picture from just showing up. Newcomer
Caren Pistorius, in particular, makes the most of limited screen time. She
doesn’t even have much dialogue in the film, but she cuts a striking impression
in all of her scenes.

Jed Kurzel’s score is memorable, a bit more playful than
the average, often overly-lugubrious Western. Shot in New Zealand, rather than
the United States, it might be a bit obvious, but it feels like you can turn a
camera in any direction and soak in some of the most gorgeous panoramic vistas
you’ll ever see. Still, DP Robbie Ryan shoots the hell out of every scene.

Slow-burning and
simmering, “Slow West” knows how to kick the voltage into high gear. As the
movie gallops to its inevitable epic conclusion, the narrative is like three
wicks lit and racing to a thrilling and explosive ending with a high body
count, but with heart and soul, too. A dark, but spirited fable about the
pitilessness of the West, the meaning of home on the range and the worthwhile
qualities of wicked, seemingly irredeemable men, “Slow West” is a terrific
little parable, and a strong debut by John Maclean worth treasuring.

About Me

Born in Toledo, Ohio in 1946 I have a BA degree in American History from Cal St. Northridge. I've been researching the American West and western films since the early 1980s and visiting filming sites in Spain and the U.S.A. Elected a member of the Spaghetti Western Hall of Fame 2010.